Did you know?
Looking to acquire a job loaded with perquisites, or perks (a synonym of perquisites)? Don’t give up the search! Make plenty of inquiries, send out an exquisitely crafted résumé, follow up with queries, and be sure to meet most of the prerequisites of the job description. Your quest may result in your conquering of the job market. After all, perquisite comes from the Latin word perquirere, which, in turn, is from the prefix per-, meaning “thoroughly” and the verb quaerere, meaning “to ask” or “to seek.” It’s not surprising that several other words in this paragraph come from quaerere as well—acquire, inquiries, exquisitely, queries, conquering, quest, and, of course, perk, which was formed by shortening and altering perquisite. Quaerere is also an ancestor of prerequisite, so we don’t blame you if you mix up perquisite and prerequisite. You can tell the difference by remembering that a prerequisite can be a requirement needed before getting a job (pre- means “before”), while a perquisite is something extra you get after you’ve been hired.
Examples of perquisite in a Sentence
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 17 Dec. 2025
Barber characterized the shift as a significant reversal from the cost-cutting approach that has dominated executive benefits and perquisites since the early 2000s and the 2008 financial crisis.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Such blatant grabs by the state send a clear signal to those who are tempted to think that the perquisites of Russian elite status—money and businesses—belong exclusively to them.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025
When the late Pope Francis was elected, a dozen years ago, and famously declined the pomp and perquisites typically associated with the office, among his renunciations was the use of the papal summer residence—a seventeenth-century palazzo in Castel Gandolfo, about fifteen miles south of Rome.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for perquisite
Cite this Entry
“Perquisite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perquisite. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perquisite
noun
